Wildwood Girls Brace For State

BASKETBALL

The Wildcats, Who Have Logged More Than 1,000 Miles In The Playoffs, Play Defuniak Springs Walton Today.

March 4, 1996|By Joe Williams of The Sentinel Staff

LAKELAND — The phrase on the back of Wildwood's practice jerseys says it all: Go Hard or Go Home.

Wildwood (19-10) has been going hard ever since the girls high school basketball playoffs began three weeks ago.

Today, the Wildcats travel to the Lakeland Civic Center for a Class 3A semifinal of the Florida Girls High School Basketball Tournament, where the unranked Wildcats will play sixth-ranked DeFuniak Springs Walton (20-4) at 4:05 p.m.

The tournament for boys and girls in six classifications begins today and runs through Saturday.

For Wildwood, it has been a long, tiring - but rewarding - journey to its second state tournament in three years. During the playoffs, Wildwood has made three trips to Tampa, one to Sarasota and one to Melbourne and logged about 1,015 miles.

The Wildcats only have shown the effects of the travel once.

''Wednesday was a rough day at practice,'' Wildwood coach Richard Hampton said. ''We didn't get back until late from Melbourne (Tuesday night), and the girls were tired.''

Wildwood, which lost to Keystone Heights in the state championship game two years ago, has four players back from that team, including scoring leaders Anita Brooks (19 points per game) and Tamara Hall (12.1).

''We have been telling them that obviously going to state, being in the Final Four, we will not be playing any mediocre teams,'' said Brooks, a senior guard/forward. ''They are all top teams, that is the way we have to look at it.''

Walton brings in a team that features one of the state's top players, senior Lakeisha Parrish, a 5-foot-7 forward who is averaging 26 points.

Wildwood won four consecutive district titles before finishing runner-up to top-ranked Tampa Academy of Holy Names this year.

Holy Names (32-2) is in the other 3A semifinal game against the two-time defending state champ, No. 2-ranked Keystone Heights (29-4), in a rematch of last year's final.